The next morning, Lillian, having been summoned, quickly ran up the marble stairs. At her destination, her father, with a strangely haggard face, and her mother, who seemed unusually radiant today, were waiting for her.
"I hope you slept well last night."
"Yes. Did you sleep well too, Lillian?"
At Lillian's greeting, Eleanor said with a smiling face. Cedric's mouth was smiling, but his eyes were clearly filled with fatigue.
"Ah, my greetings are late. I am Lillian of House Sterling."
Discovering Kaelen next, Lillian quickly greeted him, and Kaelen chuckled.
"Haha... The first time I saw you, you were still in the womb, and now you've become a lovely young lady. Moreover, your beauty is the spitting image of your mother's."
Lillian's appearance, a perfect copy of Eleanor's, who was once called the premier beauty of the Silver Province, was astonishing even at her young age when her features had not yet fully settled.
"Thank you."
"If you don't mind for a moment, would you give me your hand?"
At Kaelen's careful suggestion, Lillian glanced at her parents, Cedric and Eleanor, and the two nodded lightly.
"Yes."
Having received their silent permission, Lillian rolled up her lace sleeve and extended her arm.
Kaelen gently placed his fingers on Lillian's white and slender wrist and closed his eyes.
Cedric and Eleanor waited for Kaelen to open his eyes with a mixture of anticipation and worry.
Finally, Kaelen opened his eyes and said with a faint smile.
"You are healthy."
At Kaelen's assessment that she was healthy, Lillian smiled brightly.
"Thank you for checking!"
"Phew..."
Unlike the couple who were stroking their chests in relief, a hint of disappointment flashed in Kaelen's eyes.
'She's different from her older brother. Well, he was the special one.'
Whenever he recalled checking Julian's mana flow, Kaelen still got goosebumps and a thrill ran through his entire body.
'For the son of a merchant house to be born with an Astral Vessel.'
It was truly an astonishing thing.
The Astral Vessel was a blessing given only to a very small number of people chosen by the heavens.
Julian, the eldest son of House Sterling, was born with this amazing talent, which was said to appear once in a thousand years and was also called a millennium prodigy.
'I've never seen such vast and impurity-free mana circuits.'
Even the Paladins of the Solar Sanctum, who lived their lives in purity, could not prevent the accumulation of impurities in their mana circuits.
This was because no matter who it was, it was impossible to prevent the natural accumulation of impurities while living.
For this reason, prestigious knightly orders and noble houses taught their children mana-breathing techniques as soon as they were born to build a mana core and accumulate mana in a body free of impurities.
But surprisingly, in the mana circuits of Julian, who had lived his life in absolute laziness, not even a speck of impurity could be found.
In his primary and secondary mana pathways, there were not only no impurities, but in their place existed vast, ocean-like circuits.
'With innate great circuits and no accumulation of impurities, if a body like this learns sword aura...!'
The position of the number one swordmaster in the Empire was as good as his.
What if Julian, born with an Astral Vessel, were to learn Kaelen's sword art, the Aetheric Ten Blades?
The Aetheric Ten Blades would become famous throughout the world as the sword art of Julian, the number one in the Empire, and his master, Kaelen, would be remembered forever as the creator of the greatest sword technique in history.
'Hahaha... No matter what, I must make Julian my apprentice. Before the other guys notice!'
Kaelen felt a sense of urgency.
House Sterling was a place where numerous masters of the realm would drop by whenever they were bored. Therefore, he had to make Julian his apprentice before any of them noticed his potential and snatched him away.
With the situation being as it was, Kaelen smacked his lips in regret.
'If only this child had been born with the Astral Vessel...'
Was it impossible to have everything?
Unlike Julian, Lillian was intelligent and diligent, but her aptitude for sword aura was completely ordinary.
While Kaelen was feeling regretful, Lillian, who had sat down with a bright smile, blinked her large eyes.
"I heard you were looking for me regarding my older brother."
"Yes!"
Cedric explained in detail what had happened last night, and Lillian listened attentively.
"What should we do about your older brother?"
"Hmm...! The reason my brother foamed at the mouth and collapsed was because the act of learning sword aura was that shocking to him. In that case, how about making a deal?"
"A deal?"
"Yes! Make a deal using what my brother fears the most. Then, wouldn't my brother reluctantly agree to learn the sword?"
As befitting the child of a merchant house, Lillian proposed a deal.
"Something that Julian would fear..."
As Cedric trailed off in a suggestive tone, Lillian grinned as if she had been waiting and said.
"Succession training."
****
"He still hasn't left?"
"From what I hear, he said he will absolutely not leave the estate until he makes you his apprentice, Young Lord!"
Julian, who had been groaning with a face that had turned from pale to white, was dumbfounded.
What did such a famous swordmaster lack that he wanted to take him as an apprentice?
"What did I do wrong..."
Julian resented the heavens.
From birth until now, far from committing any sins, he had done nothing but eat and laze around.
But the indifferent heavens had sent down a disaster named Kaelen upon Julian.
"I hear that this Master Vaelor is one of the top five swordmasters in the Empire." Sophie said as she placed a wrung-out wet cloth on Julian's forehead.
"I don't think it would be so bad to become his apprentice."
"Are you telling me to become a swordsman?"
"Yes! It's cool! Sword masters who cross mountains in just a few steps and slice through boulders like butter when they swing their swords! I think it would be cool if the Young Lord I serve became a swordmaster."
"Forget it. I will absolutely not become a swordsman. No! I won't become a swordsman even if you beat me to death!"
Julian absolutely did not want to wield a sword.
Just looking at the house's guards, they woke up at dawn before the morning dew had even dried and trained their sword drills until the sun set.
It was tiring just watching them, and he had to do that himself for the rest of his life?
'I can't do it!'
It was difficult and tiring just to go to the washroom, which was not far from here. And he was supposed to swing a heavy iron sword for the rest of his life?
Absolutely! Absolutely not! Becoming a swordsman was out of the question.
Having made up his mind, Julian clenched his cute little hands, which were nothing but skin and bones, into fists.
"I will absolutely not leave this place until that old man leaves the estate, Sophie. Lock the door and don't let anyone in!"
Feeling guilty for her past transgression, Sophie shouted loyally.
"As you command!"
Sophie trotted over to lock the door, saluting like a knight.
Just then, footsteps were heard from outside the door.
"Someone's coming."
"Hic! Tell them I still haven't regained my senses from yesterday's shock!"
While Julian lay still as a mouse under the covers, holding his breath, Sophie slightly opened the door and peeked her head out.
"Hello! It's been a while."
Standing outside the door was an unexpected person.
"Oh? Young Lady Lillian!"